Embarkation:
We got there around 1:00pm. They said boarding starts 1:30pm but I think quite a
few people had checked in prior. I recommend getting there early as you can, get
settled and start enjoying the ship.

Overall Décor and Impression:
When I first got into the ship, I felt like I went into an older Las Vegas
casino. On Celebrity Infinity I felt more luxury and felt like living in a
resort hotel. Everything looks more flashy on Infiniti. I was a bit
disappointed, but not surprised, given this ship is older but cheaper, and so
what you pay is what you get. You can see signs of wear and tear everywhere. But
after a day or so, I get used to the look and feel and it doesn’t look as old as
when I first stepped into the ship. They really try to do a lot of fun stuff and
activities on board (e.g. teaching Austin Power dances, having waiters sing and
dance during dinners, giving you towel animals at night, up close magic
demonstrations, hairy chest competition among the passengers etc. etc..) that
get you engaged and after a while you don’t care about the décor as much as you
are enjoying yourself. For the price you pay, I think it’s well worth it if you
set your expectation correctly.

Room:
We had a group of 6 adults. I booked a penthouse suite (which isn't on the top
of the ship) and two ocean view rooms. We went on Thanksgiving week, so prices
were higher. The penthouse was $2018 and ocean view was $1010 each (taxes
included). Normally it would be quite a bit cheaper. The penthouse suite was
quite spacious, with a big king bed (two beds put together). There’s also an L
shaped sofa that can seat at least 6 people, plus another two chairs in the
room. Bathroom had a tub (but since this ship is older the bathroom equipment
looks outdated). You need to ask them for a hair dryer. Balcony was spacious
with two armless chair and a table. It’s private and no one can see you (except
if your next door neighbor decide to peep through the edge of the balcony
separators). There was a large window and a pivot door (not a sliding one) going
to the balcony. I am glad I brought a string with me, so I can tie the door
open. Overall this was an older ship so everything looked a bit outdated, but
the room is nice and spacious. The sofa was quite comfy. There was an empty
small fridge in the room as well. The TV also provide a jack for video and audio
input so you can bring your own DVD player if you like. There was a tape player
in the room already. The ocean view rooms were also quite spacious. I liked the
bathroom better as they have a standing shower (which is what I prefer). Overall
the bathroom was quite functional. If you like bar soap, then bring your own, as
they only have liquid soap dispensers. The window in the ocean view stateroom
cannot be opened. So if you don’t care about seeing what’s outside, you are fine
with a inside stateroom. The inside stateroom has a fake window (i.e. a curtain
hanging in a hole in the wall) so you feel like you have a window, except you
don’t have any natural light. One last note about the rooms. The door to all
the rooms look like the bathroom doors on the airplanes, but don't get
discouraged.

Shows:
I think the shows were great, and better than the ones I saw at Celebrity
Infinity’s 3 night cruise. They had one featuring Hollywood (my absolute
favorite) and a magic show featuring Bobby Borgio. Try and get the center aisle
seats towards the front of the stage. The shows are interactive and it’s always
best when you have an aisle seat esp. with the magic shows. You might have to go
an hour (or maybe even more) early to get these seats, as they often have other
events happening before the show time (e.g. Bingo, which cost $20 for 3 tickets
and $10 for one). They have a lot of colorful and nice dresses in the show. They
also have some comedy shows (some are adult only) which I didn’t go to.

Food:
For the price I paid, I would say it’s awesome. It’s a bit worse than Celebrity
Infiniti but I had to pay more for that. It’s average restaurant food. I didn’t
care about the buffet at Paris Restaurant as I only enjoy top notch buffets
personally. The service was reasonable.

Port: Catalina Island
This is an island still within the USA, and somewhere you can take a ferry to
get to from mainland US in an hour. It’s a nice little beach town. You have to
take a tender boat to get to the shore. The line could be a bit long ( you might
need to wait for half an hour depending on when you go ashore). Once on the
shore, we rented a golf cart (it was $60 for 6 passenger cart and $40 for 4
passenger cart for 1 hour, and they let you rent for 2 hour maximum). It’s a
nice way to see the island. They gave you a map with a route which you would
follow to go up hill. We only had enough time covering half of the route. But
they said it will take normally 50 minutes if you take the route non-stop. I
recommend doing this activity, unless of course you are into water activities.
They also have a glass bottom boat and a submarine tour.

Port: Ensenada
This is the only Mexico port. You can walk ashore. They provide a shuttle for $2
to get you to downtown. Once there, you can join a La Bufadora tour for $15 each
where they would drive you for about 45 min to an hour to this place where they
have one of the 3 blowholes in the world. This is supposedly the largest too,
though I didn’t get to see it in full action due to time of the day/year, but I
get to see some action. There’s also a flea market there. Personally I don’t
care too much about what I saw, but it’s a nice and cheap activity that gets you
outside of downtown. Try and buy some Churros.

Overall
I think it’s a pleasant and fun vacation. I think the activities on the ship,
the quality of the show and the little things they do (like the towel animals)
really made the difference. It’s well worth the money you are spending if you
try to go on a regular week when price is not elevated. And even for this (more
expensive) week I think I got my monies worth.